Edinburgh Ziebart Monarchs 53 : Reading Racers 37
Premiership First Leg
Lothian Arena, Armadale
Friday 27 March 1998
Edinburgh overcame Reading to score a convincing but not overwhelming lead in the first leg of the Premier League's answer to the Charity Shield. A fair crowd was present at a cold and wet Armadale, although nothing near last week's record attendance. The Evening was clear and dry although there was a lot of water around the stadium from an earlier downpour.
Both sides used guests to replace their Number 1 riders. Newcastle supreme entertainer Jesper Olsen coming in for the virus victim Dave Mullett while Mick Powell subbed for Peter Carr. Reading appeared to have the balance of t he advantage in the choice of guests and so it turned out.
Reading won the toss and not surprisingly opted for gates 1 and 3 in the first heat.
Heat 1: Jesper Olsen, Mick Powell, Justin Elkins, Paul Gould [58.4]
Olsen took advantage on the inside gate and shot from the trap like a bat out of hell leaving Mick Powell well adrift. Paul Gould surged around Elkins from the outside gate and looked good for third until he fell on the third lap. (2-4) (2-4)
Heat 2: Blair Scott, Barry Campbell, Krister Marsh [60.6]
Lee Driver suffered engine problems and was two minuted. Blair and Barry resumed where they left off last week and swept ahead from the gate. Krister Marsh never gave up trying to get on terms but made no impression on Campbel l. (5-1) (7-5)
Heat 3: Robert Larsen, Kevin Little, Petri Kokko, Phil Morris [60.2]
Larsen shot out of the gates and won easily. Kevin Little missed out on the first bend and had to come from the back. He soon passed Phil Morris but it took him two laps or more to get past the fast gating Kokko. (5-1) (12-6)< /FONT>
Heat 4: Kenny McKinna, Barry Campbell, Lee Richardson, Krister Marsh [58.8]
Krister Marsh replaced Lee Driver in this heat. Barry Campbell made another fine start from gate 2 and was joined by McKinna. Richardson applied some pressure and Kenny decided to forge ahead as Campbell held off Richardson. O n the final bend Richardson squeezed inside Barry but lost a very tight call on the line. (5-1) (17-7)
Heat 5: Jesper Olsen, Kevin Little, Justin Elkins, Robert Larsen [59.1]
Olsen gated once more ahead of Little and Larsen. Elkins managed to slip inside Robert Larsen to gain Reading a heat advantage. (2-4) (19-11)
Heat 6: Lee Richardson, Mick Powell, Paul Gould [59.3]
Richardson gated from trap 1 and held off Mick Powell without too much difficulty. Reserve replacement Lee Driver fell and pulled out. (3-3) (22-14)
Heat 7: Kenny McKinna, Petri Kokko, Phil Morris, Blair Scott [61.1]
An easy win for McKinna ahead of the Reading pairing and a subdued looking Blair Scott. (3-3) (25-17)
Heat 8: Jesper Olsen, Barry Campbell, Paul Gould, Justin Elkins [60.4]
Surprisingly Tim Sugar used Olsen's tactical substitute ride in the second string heat. Olsen duly won depriving Campbell of his chances of a paid maximum but Gould headed Elkins to tie the heat. (3-3) (28-20)
Heat 9: Lee Richardson, Kevin Little, Petri Kokko, Robert Larsen [59.3]
Reading used Petri Kokko as a tactical substitute instead of Marsh and gained another heat advantage. (2-4) (30-24)
Heat 10: Barry Campbell, Mick Powell, Phil Morris [61.3]
Campbell and Powell surged ahead from the start. Kokko fell on the fourth bend and stayed down until the exclusion light came on and then leaped up. This ploy did not work as Campbell and Powell repeated their start in the re- run for another maximum. (5-1) (35-25)
Heat 11: Jesper Olsen, Kenny McKinna, Justin Elkins, Blair Scott [59.9]
Kenny had the edge on Olsen for once and seemed to have the race under control. Blair Scott then fell on the fourth bend and was struggling to get going as the leader came round. McKinna seemed to lose concentration and Olsen got inside him to win. (2-4) (37-29)
Heat 12: Barry Campbell, Kevin Little, Petri Kokko [62.1]
Reserve replacement Barry Campbell made another start and was joined by Kevin Little for a maximum ahead of Kokko. Marsh fell at the back and retired. Reading are starting to look stretched. (5-1) (42-30)
Heat 13: Mick Powell, Jesper Olsen [59.7]
The crunch encounter was disappointing. Olsen completely missed the start and Richardson went into the first bend boards possibly aided on his way by McKinna. Richardson won few friends by staying down until the exclusion ligh t came on; by which time Powell and McKinna were half a lap ahead of Olsen. In the re-run the two Monarchs again left the isolated Olsen at the start but Jesper came back and was challenging McKinna when the Monarchs' Captain stopped (he forgot to refuel for the rerun!). An angry intervention on the tannoy from the Monarchs' followed to the effect that the Reading riders seem to be able to get up if it suits them. (3-2) (45-32)
Heat 14: Lee Richardson, Robert Larsen, Barry Campbell [60.8]
Reading's last throw saw Richardson in as a tactical substitute for the disappointing Phil Morris while Edinburgh put in Barry Campbell for Scott. Richardson managed to hold off a surge from the start by Larsen. Driver again f ailed to finish. (3-3) (48-35)
Heat 15: Mick Powell, Jesper Olsen, Kevin Little [59.7]
Monarchs opted for Little and Powell while Reading went for the obvious pairing of Olsen and Richardson. Mick Powell again made the gate and held off his former Tigers teammate. The reliable Little came in third while Richards on fell once more but managed to get out of the way this time. (4-2) (52-37)
|
Edinburgh Ziebart Monarchs |
|
|
|
||||
|
Mick Powell |
2 |
2 |
2* |
3 |
3 |
|
12+1 |
|
Paul Gould |
0 |
1* |
1* |
|
|
|
2+2 |
|
Kevin Little |
2* |
2 |
2 |
2* |
1 |
|
9+2 |
|
Robert Larsen |
3 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
|
5 |
|
Kenny McKinna |
3 |
3 |
2 |
R |
|
|
8 |
|
Blair Scott |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
Barry Campbell |
2* |
2* |
2 |
3 |
3 |
1* |
13+3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reading Racers |
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
Jesper Olsen |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
16 |
|
Justin Elkins |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
3 |
|
Petri Kokko |
1 |
2 |
1 |
X |
1 |
|
5 |
|
Phil Morris |
0 |
1* |
1 |
|
|
|
2+1 |
|
Lee Richardson |
1 |
3 |
3 |
X |
3 |
F |
10 |
|
Krister Marsh |
1 |
0 |
F |
|
|
|
1 |
|
Lee Driver |
M |
F |
R |
|
|
|
0 |
It is amazing that Edinburgh managed to win by such a margin without Peter Carr and without McKinna even scoring enough points to qualify for consideration for the nominated heat. It was an all-round team effort lead by Barry Campbell once more, with his highest score to date. Guest Mick Powell came good in the end inflicting two defeats on the seemingly unstoppable Jesper Olsen. Kevin Little was solid rather than spectacular although did produce a fine bit of riding to come from the back in Heat 3.
Paul Gould did OK with limited opportunities despite falling in Heat 1. Blair Scott seemed subdued after winning Heat 2. Robert Larsen showed that he can beat most Premier League riders if he makes a start.
For Reading, Olsen showed again how much he likes the Armadale track with a virtuoso performance. He was well backed up by Richardson who never looked totally comfortable on the fourth bend and who had two falls and some near things. Apart the honourable exception of Justin Elkins the rest looked dire although Kokko seems capable of improvement.
Reading's two reserves picked up only their one point between them for third place in Heat 2. Driver never looked like even finishing a race. Phil Morris also looked rather out of things.
Man of the match and most exciting rider both awarded jointly to Jesper Olsen and Barry Campbell.
Next meeting: Premier League Cup Qualifiers v Stoke away 28 March 1998
Return leg: Premiership v Reading away 30 March 1998
John Lowe